Faculty of Education Students’ and Academicians’ Perspectives on University Counseling Centers

The aim of the study was to determine academicians’ and students’ perspectives on university counseling centers. The study consisted of seven academicians and 40 undergraduate students. Academician and student perspectives were investigated with the use of semistructured interview forms. The interview form for the academicians included four open-ended questions while the student interview comprised seven open-ended questions. According to the results of the study, it was either that based on the academicians’ and students’ opinions, university counseling centers did not provide enough service or the academicians and students did not have an idea about this topic. Academicians stated that students mostly sought help for romantic relationships, family issues and vocational issues. Students, on the other hand, indicated that they needed help with their exam anxiety and personal issues at most. Academicians also needed guidance on acquiring the skills to communicate effectively with their students and on directing their students to psychological services. Students preferred having the counceling center in the faculty where they studied or in a location within easy reach. The large majority of students stated that they would seek help from such a counceling center and regularly allocate time to psychological services if their university had these centers. Participating students also indicated that they would most likely apply to these centers for such topics as career counseling and exam anxiety and for learning to study regularly. While students mostly preferred receiving individual counseling services, this was followed by the students’ desire for receiving group counseling services